Expert Tips for Attracting Hummingbirds

Attracting hummingbirds is easy when you start thinking like a hummingbird! Experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman explain what these birds really want and need.

By Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman

Paul Garcia

Red matters when attracting hummingbirds! This hummingbird was drawn to the red “faucet” on this feeder.

Hummingbirds are some of the most fascinating and flashy fliers you’ll ever see. Yet they’re also some of the most misunderstood. If you want to attract them and keep them coming around (and don’t we all?) you might not be sure how to get started. After all, a lot of information is out there, and it’s a little overwhelming trying to decide what to believe or try. To provide a little insight into these tiny feathered gems, we thought we would get inside their heads a bit and think the way they do. Of course, we can’t really think like hummingbirds. But we have studied their behavior enough over the years to make some good guesses about what they’re thinking. Here’s what we think they might advise.

“USE RED! IT REALLY DOES WORK.”
In North America, the flowers best adapted for hummingbird pollination are bright red blooms with a tubular shape. Hummingbirds instinctively watch for red things and investigate them. (We’ve seen them making detours to check out the taillights of parked cars, and even someone’s sunburned nose!) There’s no question that planting red flowers will when attracting hummingbirds.

“WE DON’T NEED FANCY FOOD.”
Some companies sell hummingbird nectar, but you can easily make your own. Measure out 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water and mix thoroughly. If you boil the mixture to remove impurities, it may keep longer before it starts to spoil. And don’t mix in any honey, red dye or other additives when feeding hummingbirds. Simple sugar and water work just fine.

Feeding hummingbirds means keeping the feeders squeaky clean. Change the sugar water every few days and clean weekly. Cynthia Lockwood

“KEEP IT CLEAN.”
Sugar water that has started to grow moldy can be dangerous to birds. If you’re going to put out feeders, it’s essential that you keep them clean and replace the mixture regularly—at least once every three or four days, more often in hot weather. If the mixture starts to look cloudy, clean the feeder and replace the nectar immediately.

“PUT IT OUT IN THE OPEN.”
Hummingbirds are always looking around for food sources, and they’re good at finding them, but you’ll have more luck attracting hummingbirds if you put feeders in a place where it’s easy to spot. Use a feeder with some bright red on it, and position it where it can be seen by birds flying past at a distance.

“GIVE US A LITTLE EXTRA SPACE.”
Goldfinches and some other songbirds may feed together peacefully, but hummingbirds often fight around feeders, chasing one another away. Hummingbirds are adapted to feeding at flowers, which will produce only limited amounts of nectar, so they instinctively protect their food sources even when they’re at feeders with an unlimited supply. Try putting up two or more feeders that can’t be seen from one another. Even the toughest little hummingbird can’t monopolize multiple feeders if he or she can’t see them all at once.

“WE’RE CREATURES OF HABIT.”
If the hummingbirds returning in spring seem to remember where you had flowers or feeders in previous years, they probably do. As tiny creatures that rely on specialized food sources in a big, big world, they have to be good at finding their way back to the best spots. They have a highly developed sense of what scientists call spatial memory. This is a good reason to work extra hard at attracting hummingbirds. Once you get them established, they’ll be back for more.

Don’t be alarmed if you only see females at the nest. Males don’t help with raising young. Adam (arwinn)

“IT’S NOT YOU. IT’S ME.”
While the hummingbirds enjoy having your backyard as a nectar source, they aren’t relying on you 100 percent. One of the top questions we are asked is: “If I have my feeder out in fall, will it keep the hummingbirds from migrating?” The answer is no – feeding hummingbirds will not stop them from migrating. They’ll migrate when they’re ready, whether or not feeders are available. It’s instinct!

“LEAVE IT TO THE LADIES.”
Backyard birders sometimes worry because they had a pair of hummingbirds around and then the male disappeared, leaving a single mother behind. But this is normal for hummingbirds. The male never helps with nest building, incubation or feeding the young. The amazing mother hummingbird does all that work herself. Meanwhile, the male goes off in search of another female. It seems odd to humans, but this behavior ensures that there will be even more hummingbirds for us to enjoy!

“STAY ALERT, BUT BE PATIENT.”
It may take some time for hummingbirds to find your feeder—and even after they do, it may be a while before you notice that they’re visiting. They may zip in to the feeder for a quick sip many times before you happen to catch them in the act. So keep feeding hummingbirds, and keep watching. You’re likely to be rewarded.

I was thrilled to read this! Now I know everything, like throwing out the nectar in the cupboard that’s a year old, where to put the feeders (paint the yellow one red), put one in the back, one in the front and wait for the little darlings to come zooming into my yard. Keeping my fingers Xd that I’ll see more of them soon.

I have a couple who will come peek in my windows until I notice them and put the feeders out!! Every year-we had a house fire in the fall 2 years ago, and as our new house was being built in the same spot, they would hang around looking for food. One of the first things I did when we moved in was had the hooks put in my front porch to hang the feeders!! We have a group who come back every year, love it!!

I have some that return every year and will hover at the feeder spot until I hang it for them. If you have a feeder with yellow ports, paint them red with nail polish and the bees/wasps will not be attracted. By the end of summer when babies are grown I have to hang 4 feeders as they will not share 🙂

They always come right after my birthday, which is May 1st. They are always here by Mother’s Day. I live near Augusta, ME. If my feeders aren’t out the buzz me in the window. If they get empty they also let me know. I like the small feeders used in plant pots that come with a long wire with a hook on the end. They seem to like these the best and the sugar water is always fresh as it is a smaller feeder. I also put one in the upstairs office window in the front of the house so I have them in front & in the back. I have even held one of these feeders in my hand they come right up to it. What a thrill to hear & see those little wings move so fast.

I think the solution sours even if boiled/not boiled. The difference is the temp outside and it its directly in the sun. I have 4 feeders, 2 in shade and 2 in sun, and I can see such a difference in location. Sun of course being the worst…but for sum reason they like it better…go figure!

Great information here that can really be used to set up a good feeding and H2O station for hummingbirds. The picture of Honey Boo Boo’s Mom blowing kisses up at the top right however made it too nauseating to read the entire article without wrenching. You might want to get rid of that trash.

I’m so tired of reading, “Don’t add color to the nectar.” When I stopped adding red food coloring, all my hummingbirds went away (and I’ve tried this more than once). When I start adding the color again, they come back.

Try changing feeders. I put one out and they didn’t like it, although my neighbor had them right next door. I bought another one to try and they love it! Just make sure your feeder is bright red and the solution is fresh. Good luck!

I agree. I’ve tried multiple feeders with the clear and colored nectar and they don’t come to the clear nectar or not nearly as often. People say that the red dye is damaging to them (and to people as well) but hummingbird nectar has been red my entire life. There has been a stink about red dyes since the 1970;s and I’d think if they were that dangerous, they’d have been banned from food products by now. JMO.

I would like to caution everyone that has a red plastic emergency handle on their garage door. It dangles from the chain drive and is very tempting to hummers and will draw them inside when the door is open. Just put a strip of black electrician’s tape over the red, and it will keep them from entering your garage and getting so confused that they are stuck in the building. This happened to us a couple of times before we figured out what the problem was.

I have a third floor patio (apartment) with black oil sunflower seed feeder on one side for my favorite chickadees (in and out!) and on the other side a feeder for hummers. They’ll find it. Actually, by the middle of the summer we have to hang two feeders: we’ve had 2-3 at the same time fighting and this helps a little. Slightly urban/suburban, and they find it every year.

I was attracted to this page after noticing that they are creatures of habit. The one that has gained access to my feeder stops by at just before 8, around 9, and again around 1 pm. Everyday. and takes off and heads in the same direction each time. Quite fascinating and gives me a heads up when to watch. There was a battle early in the spring where he fought off another hummingbird (even though they called a truce and fed from opposite sides of the feeder). But he/she is only one since then, so I feel like he must have “won” something. To the commenter above, I have a third floor balcony and he is a regular visitor.

I also inadvertently picked up petunias in a mid-summer clearance sale and now he briefly checks those out too. I might look into producing healthier petunias that are nectar rich so that they will feed from those too.

According to renowned entomologist Doug Tallamy, a hummingbird’s diet is 80% tiny insects and spiders which means that a variety of native plants (which attract and host insects) are a must in the garden. Also, a man made ‘nectar’ feeder is good but planting the natives our ruby throated hummingbirds evolved with is even better. Plants like cardinal flower/Lobelia cardinalis,coral honeysuckle/Lonicera sempervirens, and Eastern red columbine/Aquilegia canadensis — and choose the species, not the cultivars. The double flowers of columbine cultivars do not provide nectar. If you have the conditions for all three of these plants, the more power to you and your hummers!

I have a window feeder that I place on my slider door that does not move, I have several Hummers that continue to come – one even flew in my house – it took me hours to finally catch it. It wore itself out so much – that I had to hand feed it! Then we let her go outside.
Funny thing, the hummers do not like the hanging feeder on the deck – BUT it is close to my other feeders, could that be why?

I’m not sure the kind of feeder you’re using, but this one is too deep for bees to reach the nectar: Songbird Essentials Dr JB’s 16 oz Clean Feeder All Red Feeder on Amazon. I only have a bee occasionally that I usually swat, because they seem to remember and come back. Also make sure (which I’m sure you do) no nectar is spilled or leaking.

I had family members, that feed so many hummers at one time you thought a swarm of bees was coming at you. As soon as the feeders, at least 4,would be put out it was hard to count them all. I saw hummers sitting on his finger and feeding while sitting on the porch in amazement.The hummers knew this was the place to get a good meal.

I have sort of a problem and wondered if anyone can help. I live in the Northeast and have been feeding hummingbirds for about 20 years from a feeder hanging on a shepherd’s hook off my deck. One morning when I looked out very early the hook was turned slightly and the feeder was empty. I took it down, washed it, filled it, and put it back up for the day. Just before dark I took it down and put it in the garage for the night and placed it out again in the morning. That night I didn’t bring it inside and at 2am I noticed it was empty again. I haven’t put it up since and I feel bad because the hummers are looking for it. I have seen a raccoon under my regular bird feeder at night lately. Will a raccoon drink the nectar from the hummingbird feeder? Also, this morning something knocked a favorite flower pot off the deck railing onto the deck which broke and made quite a mess. In all these years nothing like this has ever happened before and I have seen raccoons before. Just wondering if anyone could give me some info and what I can do to start feeding the poor hummers again.

I think it’s the raccoons. I haven’t had any up on my hummingbird feeders, but I also have dogs around. A coworker catches the raccoons eating his jelly for the orioles. They apparently like sweet things. We have bats flying around our place every summer and I’ve never had a problem with anything bothering the feeders around my deck.

For sure it’s the raccoons. I’m in Ohio also and had the same problem. The more they got the braver they got until a saw the whole family of 5. You need to break their habit. Make sure your feeders are away from trees and areas on you roof that they can use to get to the feeder. Also high off the ground. They will jump from a nearby tree and swing on it till it spills. Once they can’t succeed they will stop. Trapping the racoons is another option. Then relocate.

We live in Sandy, Oregon (25 miles east of
Portland) and have a LOT of hummers annd
4 feeders during spring and summer. In the
fall and winter we keep one feeder in front and one in back as we always have 3 or 4
that are here year around.

We have had humnmingbirds for several years, lots of them. Few weeks back, a flock of blackbirds came through. Haven’t seen the hummingbirds since. This has never happened before.We typically go through nearly a half gallon of nectar a day and now nothing. Blackbirds are gone, feeders washed and fresh nectar, plenty of flowers but still no hummers. Any thoughts?

I am a beginner when it comes to attracting hummingbirds (first year doing this). I have planted several types of flowers that hummingbirds love and have a feeder with lots of red on it, but even after a few months I haven’t seen a hummingbird. Am I doing something wrong?

Nicole – try planting salvias. I live in Texas and have several black/blue salvias and the hummingbirds love them. I also have red salvias. Hummingbirds ignore my feeders, I’ve tried different feeders and sugar waters but they prefer my salvias.